The Killers

Blu-Ray Box Set

Box Set Info

Ernest Hemingway’s simple but gripping short tale “The Killers” is a model of economical storytelling. Two directors adapted it into unforgettably virile features: Robert Siodmak, in a 1946 film that helped define the noir style and launch the acting careers of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner; and Don Siegel, in a brutal 1964 version, starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, and John Cassavetes, that was intended for television but deemed too violent for home audiences and released theatrically instead. The first is poetic and shadowy, the second direct and harsh as daylight, but both get at the heart of Hemingway’s existential classic.

Collector’s Set Includes

The first screen incarnation of Ernest Hemingway’s short story “The Killers” came in 1946, when director Robert Siodmak unleashed The Killers, helping to define the film noir style and launching the careers of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner.

Ernest Hemingway’s gripping short story “The Killers” has fascinated readers and filmmakers for generations. In 1964, Don Siegel took it on, creating the first-ever made-for-TV feature, which would prove too violent for American audiences in the wake of JFK’s assassination.

Disc Features

New high-definition digital restorations of both films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays

Andrei Tarkovsky’s short film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers,” made when he was a student in 1956

Interview from 2002 with writer Stuart M. Kaminsky about both films

Audio recording from 2002 of actor Stacy Keach reading Hemingway’s short story